Sun City man to be sentenced 'mercy killing'

An Arizona man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the fatal shooting of his ailing elderly wife is set for sentencing.

George Sanders says his 81-year-old wife begged him to shoot her after learning she'd come down with an infection and would be hospitalized.

The 86-year-old says Virginia Sanders didn't want to die in a hospital, so he shot her in the head on Nov. 9 at the couple's Sun City home outside Phoenix. Attorneys on both sides are calling it a "mercy killing."

He was originally charged with first-degree murder but later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge.

The World War II veteran now could be sentenced Friday to up to 12 1/2 years in prison or as little as probation.